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The numbers are in, and they tell a sobering story for families navigating the college admissions process.
According to the College Board's own data, the average SAT score for the Class of 2024 was 1,024, the lowest recorded since the test was redesigned in 2016, and the third consecutive year of decline. The Class of 2025 showed only a marginal improvement, with scores of 521 in Reading and Writing and 508 in Math. Both figures still fall short of the pre-pandemic Class of 2019 averages of 531 and 528, respectively.
At the same time, many of the country's most selective colleges are raising the bar.
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Ivy League Schools Are Bringing Back Test Requirements
The test-optional era, which expanded rapidly during the pandemic, is quietly reversing at the most selective schools in the country.
For the 2027-28 admissions cycle, only Columbia will remain test-optional among the Ivy League institutions. That means most of the country's most competitive universities now expect a standardized test score, right as student performance sits at a multi-year low.
The timing could not be more consequential for current high schoolers.
The Score Gap Is Widening Across the Board
The SAT is not the only test reflecting this trend. The Class of 2025’s average ACT score came in at 19.4, the lowest in decades, making the decline cross-test and systemic, not a quirk of one exam or one graduating class.
What's behind the slide? Pandemic-era learning loss is part of the picture, but the data points to something broader. Only 39% of 2025 SAT takers met both college-readiness benchmarks, compared to 45% before the pandemic. That gap represents hundreds of thousands of students each year who are testing below the threshold colleges use to assess academic readiness.
The Equity Problem Hidden in the Data
Score declines are not distributed evenly. BestColleges research from 2025 shows that SAT performance correlates strongly with family income and parental education level, and the gaps between demographic groups show no signs of narrowing.
Students from higher-income households are far more likely to have access to test preparation resources, private tutoring, and the time needed to study consistently. For families without those resources, the reinstatement of test requirements at elite schools adds another layer of difficulty to an already uneven admissions process.
What Actually Moves the Score Needle
For parents asking what to do with this information, the research consistently points in one direction: structured, sustained preparation started early.
Last-minute cramming has a weak track record. What high-scoring students tend to do differently is practice with intention over time, identify specific weak areas, and work through test-taking strategies that mirror the actual exam format.
Experts consistently point to consistent, structured preparation as the strongest predictor of score improvement. Guides like this one on SAT tips break down the research-backed strategies that mirror what high-scoring students actually do differently.
The key word is consistency. Students who treat the SAT as a skill to build, rather than a test to survive, are better positioned to close the gap between where they score now and where they need to be.
Why This Moment Matters Beyond the Numbers
SAT score trends do not exist in a vacuum. They reflect broader shifts in how American students emerge from high school prepared, or underprepared, for college-level work.
With selective schools reversing course on test-optional policies and benchmark passage rates still below pre-pandemic levels, the pressure on families to take preparation seriously has never been higher. The data makes clear that relying on classroom instruction alone is no longer a reliable path to a competitive score.
For parents of high schoolers, the window to act is now. Applications don't wait, and neither does the calendar of testing opportunities.
